DC 5: Sentinels and Stranger Things
by JudyL068
Summary: The Sentineldotcom 5: Jim and Blair find out things are much more complicated than they seem.


**Sentinels and Stranger Things**

The 5th story in the Sentineldotcom Series

If you haven't read the first four, you may want to go back and check them out

By JudyL

December 11, 2006

Yes, I know, I'm sorry. This story took much longer to complete than I anticipated. It begins immediately after the 4th story, "Sentinel Links" and thus makes reference to 9-11. It is also a crossover with Stargate SG1. I don't think I made reference to it in the last story, but for those who really need to know, in the SG1 world, this story takes place after the episode called "2001." Other than that, I can't promise any continuity with the Stargate universeG, although I have a few ideas for events in the future.

I'd like to thank everyone who has sent me feedback on this series. I'm glad you are enjoying it. I hope you like this latest addition.

I also want to thank Cheryl for being my most wonderful beta, not to mention cousin G. As usual your editing has helped tighten up sections that didn't flow the way I wanted them to. Thanks!

Warnings: Some bad language.

Disclaimers: Nobody belongs to me. Jim, Jack, Blair, Daniel… nobody… It's very sad.

* * *

><p><strong>Colorado, September 12, 2001<strong>

The military transport plane landed and a car picked the three men up. They rode silently for some time. But it couldn't last.

"So," Blair Sandburg said, breaking the tense silence, "do we get to make a phone call?"

Colonel Jack O'Neill raised an eyebrow. "Who do you want to call?"

"A friend," Blair stated defensively, "just to let someone know we haven't dropped off the face of the earth."

"Yet," Jack mumbled under his breath, earning a suspicious glare from Jim Ellison_. Oh, forgot, Sentinel, good ears._ O'Neill cleared his throat. "Of course you can call your friend, Sandburg. Just don't tell them where you are for now."

"And exactly where are we?" Blair asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Colorado. That's all you need to know for now."

Jim put a restraining hand on his Guide's arm and Blair sat back in his seat with a huff.

Silence regained its foothold in the vehicle.

About half an hour later Jim squirmed and turned from gazing out the window to look at O'Neill. "How much further to your base?" he asked tightly.

Blair's eyes snapped to his friend. He could see little lines of tension around Jim's eyes and mouth. "Jim?" he asked softly, putting a hand on his Sentinel's arm.

Ellison relaxed marginally but shook his head and gave Sandburg a look that he knew said, "Not here."

O'Neill took in the exchange and Ellison's behavior. He looked around and realized where they were. "We're close, maybe a couple of miles." Jack grinned. "Almost there kids."

Blair rolled his eyes. It was bad enough for Simon and Jim to call him kid, but this Air Force colonel?

The car rolled to a stop several minutes later in front of a gate that led into the side of a mountain. "Cheyenne Mountain Complex?" Blair read aloud. "Isn't that where NORAD is based?"

"Among other things," Jack said as the car was waved through and pulled in to a parking spot just outside the giant door. "Home, sweet, home,"

"Better not be," Sandburg groused under his breath.

Jim gave him a tight grin and rubbed down the hairs on the back of his neck. "What do you have in there?" he snapped.

Jack regarded the Sentinel thoughtfully. "Let's go inside, get you settled for a bit and I'll see what my CO has heard from the President. Then…" he shrugged.

Ellison nodded distractedly. There was something… not normal… in the mountain. They followed O'Neill in, received guest passes good for the first four levels only, and were shown the way to a cafeteria and then to a room on the second level with two double beds.

"You're free to move around the top four levels," Jack instructed. "But please don't try to leave the base. I'll be back for you ASAP. Okay?"

Blair glanced at Jim who nodded his affirmative and O'Neill left them alone.

"What's going on, Jim?" Blair asked, practically pouncing on his friend as soon as O'Neill left.

Jim closed his eyes and rolled his head slowly, trying to release the tension in his neck. "I don't know, Chief. I felt… something before we got to the base. It's… louder now."

Eyebrows rose. "Louder?"

Ellison sighed. "More… I can feel it… more… damn, Blair. I don't know how to describe it." He rubbed one hand briskly over his other forearm. "I feel it 'in' me, under my skin. It's making my hair stand up for goodness sake," he held his arms up so Blair could see.

Sandburg's eyes narrowed in thought. "Is it painful?" he asked concerned.

"No. Just… persistent." A violent shiver ran up Jim's back.

"Can you isolate the feeling Jim? Block it out?" Blair recommended, stepping closer to his Sentinel and putting a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know Chief," Jim admitted.

"Let's try," Blair suggested guiding his friend to sit on one of the beds. "Close your eyes and locate the feeling…."

**SGC Level 27**

**General Hammond's office**

"I spoke to the President late last night," Hammond said, tossing the folder with the orders concerning Ellison and Sandburg onto the far side of his desk.

Jack picked it up. "And?"

"He wants us to give them a full disclosure," the general replied doubtfully. "How well do you know this man Ellison?"

O'Neill sat back in his chair. "We shared a brief assignment together a few years back. He was tough, but fair with his men. Honest and… loyal." He shrugged. "Of course that was over a decade ago. Things can change."

Hammond grunted. "His record since then is impressive. What about this Watchman thing? And Sandburg?"

Jack raised one eyebrow briefly. "Well, their term is 'Sentinel.' Watchman is just from the movie. I don't know what to tell you General, he has those abilities. At least the little that they were able to demonstrate to me seemed real. From what I understand, Ellison needs Sandburg's help when he uses his senses. It's more a trust thing than an inability to function. The Sentinel needs to know someone's got his six." O'Neill tilted his head ruefully. "Ellison trusts Sandburg to do it."

"How soon…" a knock at the door interrupted Hammond. "Come," he said, raising his voice to be heard through the door.

"General," Sergeant Wiley said. "We've finally heard back from all of the off world teams except SG1. Should have everyone home within a few hours."

"Good," Hammond replied. "As soon as they are rested and finish their reports, get them out where they are needed. Make sure each team understands that this is a temporary assignment. They need to report back to the SGC as soon as possible. Everyone is to keep in contact daily."

"Yes, sir. Anything else sir?" the sergeant asked.

"When Dr. Jackson gets back, please have him set up for a… Stargate 101 lecture," Hammond finished wryly.

Jack snorted. The sergeant smiled. "Yes, sir," he said then left the room.

"Daniel will love this," O'Neill smirked.

"Good," General Hammond said. "I want SG1 to brief Sandburg and Ellison. All of you."

"General…"

"Jack," Hammond paused and sighed. "It's a two way street. I need the four of you to get Sentinel 101 from them."

O'Neill nodded. "Yes, sir."

Blair watched Jim closely. _Good, almost there I think_. He'd helped his friend slip into a meditative state and together they'd figured out a way for the Sentinel to 'dial down' the odd feeling. Now Jim was trying to adjust to the new 'normal' settings for this environment.

Suddenly Ellison stiffened, his eyes popped open and he took a sharp breath. "Chief!" he cried out as he grabbed his head and tried to curl in on himself.

"Jim!" Blair jumped up and pulled Jim back into a sitting position then held the Sentinel close. He could feel the tremors that wracked Jim's body. "Easy," he whispered. "Focus on turning all the dials down to one, Jim. One at a time," Blair continued his monologue, grateful that Jim was so used to listening to him by now that the Sentinel responded to his Guide almost automatically, especially in times of extreme stress.

"Listen to my voice, Jim, touch first, dial it down." Blair felt Jim gradually relax against him. "Good, now hearing, bring the dial to one, you'll still be able to hear me, but everything else will be tuned out. That's it, big guy. You can do it."

After several minutes Jim managed to set all of his dials on one and Blair had him stretched out in a semi-zone on the bed. The Guide rose quietly. "Rest here Jim. I'm going to go talk to O'Neill. Just relax, I'll be back."

As much as he hated to leave Jim alone after an attack on his senses like that, Blair had to find out what had caused the problem. And he only knew of one person to ask. He stalked down the corridor looking for someone to take him to O'Neill.

_Army gray. Bleh! Why do the armed forces insist on gray walls in their installations? Haven't they ever seen the studies on how color can influence performance?_ He made it all the way to the fourth level without seeing any military types, only civilian personnel. _Geesh. When you actually want a military presence they're not to be found. Only civilian scientist types. Guess they're all attached to NORAD_. _ Ah ha!_ "Excuse me," Blair said, stepping right in front of an oncoming soldier. "I need to see Colonel Jack O'Neill and I need to see him right now," Blair said, his tone leaving no room for discussion.

The soldier looked down at Blair and started to say something then blinked as Sandburg continued to stare at him. "Um…" the soldier said sagely.

Blair raised his eyebrows, inviting the man to continue.

"I can page him for you," he finished hopefully.

Sandburg nodded. "Fine, let's go." He followed the man through the corridors until they reached a security desk in front of an elevator. Blair stood back while 'his' soldier talked to the two at the desk and then one of them spoke to someone on the phone. Finally his soldier came back over to give him the news.

"I'm sorry, sir," the man said, not the least bit apologetic. "Colonel O'Neill has been delayed. If you'd like to wait in your room for him, I'll be happy to escort you back upstairs."

_Happy my ass._ Blair fumed. "No thanks. I'll wait right here for the colonel." _What in the world is going on here? Delayed? That sounds like militarese for something dire. All right, fine. I can play the waiting game for a little while. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna wait in my room like a good little boy._ Blair looked around for a chair, not seeing one he backed up to the closest wall and sat down on the floor as he smiled falsely up at the soldier. "You can run along now. I'm sure those two can keep an eye on me."

The soldier's jaw clenched. He glanced over at the desk and received two matching smirks from the men there. He exhaled through his nose, then gave Blair a nod and a tight smile before he resumed his duties.

Blair sat on the floor pretending to ignore the whispering guards. He leaned his head back against the wall and listened.

"So what's holding O'Neill up anyway?" Soldier Number One asked softly.

"Some sort of emergency with his team," Number Two answered, glancing over at the long haired man on the floor. "Who do you think he is?" he asked with a nod toward Sandburg.

"Dunno. I hear the colonel brought in two non-coms this morning. Has something to do with the terrorist activities topside."

"Think we should let him just sit there?" Number Two asked.

"I doubt O'Neill would have let them have free run if they were a danger to security. Even just the upper floors," Number One replied.

Number Two grunted affirmatively.

Blair suppressed a smirk. He may not be a Sentinel, but there were other ways to overhear conversations. This hallway was wonderfully acoustic and silent to boot. Just by making himself appear non-threatening, the two men had quickly discounted his presence. Now Blair had another question to add to his list. What kind of emergency can you have inside a mountain?

O'Neill waited for the elevator. He figured it was time to check on their guests. SG1 wasn't due to check in for another half an hour and they'd been unable to reach them between other teams returning home. The doors opened and he entered the car. Just as they started to close, the claxon went off announcing an unscheduled wormhole. O'Neill slipped back out the elevator doors just before they finished closing and raced to the control room.

General Hammond was already there when Jack arrived.

"It's SG1's iris code, sir," Sgt. Davis said.

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered.

The metallic flower opened to expose the shimmering blue of the wormhole. Scant seconds later, a body plunged through, landing hard on the ramp.

"Close… iris," Daniel gasped, rolling a few times before he came to a sprawled stop. An energy bolt followed him through the wormhole causing personnel to duck and dive for cover.

O'Neill and several medics ran to Jackson as the iris spun closed and the gate shut down.

Jack knelt beside Daniel as the medics checked him out. "Where are Carter and Teal'c?" he demanded. "What happened?"

Daniel grasped weakly for Jack's hand. Blood flowed freely from a cut above his eye and had soaked a makeshift bandage on his right leg. "…ambush…" he managed to whisper. O'Neill caught Daniel's hand in his as the younger man lost consciousness.

"We need to move him to the infirmary now, sir," one of the medics stated firmly.

O'Neill released Daniel's hand and helped load him onto the gurney. He stood back and raised his eyes to meet the general's concerned frown. "I thought this was a simple meet and greet," he almost accused.

"It was," Hammond responded, taking full responsibility with his tone of voice.

"Permission to mount a rescue mission, sir," O'Neill requested.

Hammond sighed. "Send a MALP first, Colonel."

"Yes, sir," O'Neill replied sourly. He knew Hammond would follow protocol, but he couldn't help but try.

Several minutes later the gate opened and the MALP was sent through. They started to receive telemetry. Several dozen warriors stood around the gate with weapons aimed at the machine and the open gate.

One man wearing elaborate blue body paint and a feathered headdress stepped forward, leveling a staff weapon at the MALP as he spoke. "Do not come here again. We will worship no other god than Huitzilopochtli." He then fired the weapon and the screen went dead.

Jack frowned. "Try and contact Carter or Teal'c on their radios."

Davis nodded and opened a frequency. "Stargate Command to Captain Carter… Captain Carter, please respond… Stargate Command to Teal'c…" he looked up at O'Neill. "I'm sorry, sir. They are either not receiving the transmission or are unable to answer."

"Close it down," Jack ordered, glaring at the gate.

"Sir?" Davis asked.

"Shut it down. Dial back in an hour and try to contact them again," the colonel growled as he stalked off, intent on seeing how Daniel was doing.

Dr. Janet Frasier glanced up as Colonel O'Neill entered the infirmary under full steam. "He'll be all right, Colonel. But he is unconscious at the moment."

Jack came to a stop beside the doctor and stared down at his young friend. "What are his injuries?"

"Some sort of energy weapon injury to his leg and a gash to his head. Blood loss, shock and concussion," Janet summed up.

"But he'll be okay," Jack clarified.

"Yes," Janet replied.

The intercom crackled to life. "Colonel O'Neill, please report to Level Four. Colonel O'Neill, please report to Level Four."

O'Neill looked up and sighed. "Damn. Look, Doc, I've got to go upstairs for a bit. Call me if anything changes, okay?"

"Don't worry, I will. But Daniel will be fine, Jack," Janet assured.

"Thanks," Jack nodded, not quite managing a smile.

Blair paced the floor. He could tell he was making the soldiers nervous, but he didn't care anymore. _What the hell is taking so long?_ He glanced at his guards again. "Why is it taking him so long to get here?"

"I don't know, sir," Number One answered.

"You wouldn't tell me even if you did know would you?" Blair glared up at the man. _Where do they find these guys?_

"Not unless you have the right clearance, sir," the soldier said, trying not to squirm under the glare.

"Hmmph," Blair huffed and continued his pacing. He stopped and faced the desk again. Both of the soldiers were standing now, a sign that they did indeed feel threatened by the Shaman. "Page him again," he demanded.

"Sir," Number Two tried to placate, "when he's available, he'll be here. Paging him again will only make him angry."

"Well," Blair replied sarcastically as the elevator doors opened, "we certainly wouldn't want to do that, now would we?"

O'Neill stepped out and took in the defensive stance of his soldiers and the antagonism rolling off of Sandburg. "Wouldn't want to do what, kiddies? I thought we were all going to play nice together," he said, hoping to diffuse the situation before his own patience wore out.

Sandburg strode over to O'Neill and glared up at him. "Just what the hell do you have on this base, Colonel?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "That's a need to know, son. And you didn't need to know."

"The hell I didn't." Blair spat back. "Anything that affects the well-being of my partner falls into my need to know category. And something in this mountain is playing havoc with Jim's senses. Therefore, I need to know! And I am not your son!" Blair insisted, so intent on finding a solution to Jim's problem that he actually poked the colonel on the chest with his finger, twice.

O'Neill scowled, subconsciously noting that the two guards had each backed up a step. "I don't know who you think you are, Sandburg, but here in this facility you are nothing but a guest. And guests don't get to demand anything." Jack moved into Sandburg's personal space and put his own finger on the younger man's chest. "And they don't get to poke colonel's either."

Sandburg seemed to swell with anger. "I don't consider us guests here, Colonel," he snarled. "We are here under protest and to me that makes us prisoners. So unless you start telling me what I want to hear, you'd better be prepared to have your ass sued for false imprisonment."

O'Neill backed up a step. _Calm down, Jack. It's not his fault Daniel's injured and Sam and Teal'c are missing._ He glanced at the two guards. "Have Dr. Sandburg escorted back to his room, if he won't cooperate, put him in a cell," he ordered.

Blair's anger suddenly left him as fear rushed in to take its place. "You can't do that! Jim needs me!" Sandburg grabbed O'Neill by the arm and spun him around. "Just tell me what's going on. I need to know to help Jim."

Jack shook the younger man off and snarled, "I have more important things to worry about than your friend's damned sensibilities."

"You son of a bitch!" Blair snarled back, shoving the colonel hard enough to push him back several steps. "We didn't want to come here. You have no right to hold us and expose us to heaven only knows what… Radiation? Poison?"

O'Neill grabbed Sandburg by his shirt and shoved him back against the wall. "I have the right to do whatever the hell I want when my team is in danger. You hear me?"

"Danger?" Blair shouted, seemingly unafraid of the larger man. "What kind of fucking emergency can you possibly have in a mountain?"

Jack gave Sandburg another little push as the younger man suddenly turned his head to look down the hall, apparently losing interest in their conversation. "Listen to me you little punk…"

That was as far as he got.

Ellison grabbed O'Neill with a growl and spun him around so fast that the colonel couldn't keep his balance. Jack didn't quite make it to the floor though, because Jim already had a hold of his shirt. Jack suddenly found himself pinned to the wall staring into steely blue eyes.

For a split second, shocked silence filled the corridor. Then everyone was moving, well everyone but Ellison and O'Neill.

The two guards moved to pull Jim off the colonel only to be attacked from behind by Blair.

"Don't touch him!" Sandburg shouted as he pulled and pushed to keep the guards away from Jim.

The soldiers decided to subdue this menace first and let the colonel worry about the taller, silent one. Finally they each had one of Sandburg's arms twisted behind his back.

O'Neill was still trying to loosen the Sentinel's grip, but had only managed to get the grip on his shirt tightened to the point of choking himself. "Sandburg…" he gasped, "Call him off!"

Blair stopped struggling with the guards and saw that the colonel was in real danger. "Jim," he said, trying to project calm. He shrugged his shoulders, but the grip the guards had on him didn't lessen. "Tell them to let me go," he requested.

O'Neill managed a nod. _God this man is strong._

Blair stumbled a step when he was released and shook his arms as he approached the Sentinel. "Okay, Jim. Time to put the colonel down now. Come on, buddy. I'm safe," Blair said so softly that only O'Neill could hear him. Blair put both hands on Jim's arm. "Enough, Jim. Come back now," he demanded in that same soft commanding voice.

O'Neill watched with no little wonder as the steely blue eyes suddenly became more human and he found himself face to face with Jim Ellison. Ellison blinked twice then backed off a couple of steps as he let go of Jack's shirt.

"Chief?" Ellison said, more than a little confused by the situation.

"Sorry, Jim," Sandburg replied, reaching out to put his hand on the Sentinel's shoulder. "I shouldn't have left you alone. I'm sorry. How are you doing?"

"It's better now," Jim admitted.

"You mind explaining what the hell just happened?" O'Neill demanded, having regained his composure.

Ellison and Sandburg turned hard glares on the colonel, each for their own reason.

"Only if you tell me what you have down there," Blair countered.

O'Neill sighed. He stalked over to the desk and pulled out a log book. He tossed it at soldier Number One. "Sign them in. Jim Ellison, Blair Sandburg. Full access." O'Neill ignored the confused stares that the guards gave him as he reached into the drawer again and pulled out two passed. He flipped one at Ellison and the other at Sandburg. "Don't take all day," he muttered, then turned to call the elevator.

Jim and Blair exchanged a confused glance then moved forward to sign the log book. Number One and Number Two kept as much distance between themselves and the visitors as possible. The Sentinel and Guide boarded the elevator and as the doors closed Jim heard one of the soldiers say, "Better O'Neill than us." The Sentinel chuckled ignoring O'Neill's raised eyebrows. Jim slung a companionable arm over Sandburg's shoulder.

They exited the elevator on the 27th level and were met by another officer.

"Colonel," the man said, "General Hammond needs to see you in the conference room."

"Thanks, Walter," O'Neill replied. "Come with me," he advised the men with him.

Blair mimicked the colonel silently behind his back causing Jim to grin. O'Neill had really pissed Sandburg off.

They entered a conference room with a large window that overlooked another room a floor below. Blair angled off toward the window and saw a large metal ring standing at the top of a ramp. He glanced back at Jim, but any further thoughts were interrupted by the other man in the room.

"Welcome to Stargate Command, Dr. Sandburg, Colonel Ellison. I'm General Hammond. Please have a seat and I'll try to answer your questions." The general motioned for them to take a seat, then sat down himself.

"It's just mister," Jim said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. He and Blair remained standing.

Hammond shook his head. "No, son. I'm afraid not." He lifted an official-looking envelope from the table. "I have a communiqué from the White House recalling James Ellison to active duty and a Presidential order promoting you to Lieutenant Colonel." He handed Jim the envelope.

"What?" Blair exploded. "No way! We'll fight this!" he threatened, placing his hands on the table and leaning toward Hammond. "You can't have him," Blair growled.

Jim dropped his hand onto Blair's shoulder and gently pulled him back from the table. "Chief…"

Blair swung around. "No," he said, his voice commanding obedience. "You are not going to be at the beck and call of the military." He faced Hammond again. "You get the President on the phone, right now. I want to talk to him."

Hammond blinked and reached for the red phone beside him. As his hand touched it, he stopped and shook his head. The general looked back up at Sandburg, just barely managing to hide his unease. "Look, son…"

"I'm not your son," Blair continued, still in Guide mode. "Call…"

"Blair," Jim interrupted. "Let's hear what they have to say," he said softly, soothing his partner with a squeeze to his shoulder. "Sit."

Blair glared at the general and tossed a glare at O'Neill for good measure before he plopped into one of the chairs around the table. The others sat with a bit more decorum.

Hammond studied the pair before him as he collected his thoughts. There was more to this Sentinel thing than he'd been told. "I know Colonel O'Neill gave you just a brief summary of our project…"

"He told us some fairy tale about aliens building the pyramids," Blair responded vehemently. He wasn't ready to forgive and forget.

Hammond regarded the intense young man for a moment and Blair actually found himself beginning to squirm under the scrutiny. Not many people could do that to him any more. The general stood and moved over to the window.

"What you see below is the stargate. It is a piece of alien technology that was left on Earth thousands of years ago by a race we know as the Ancients. The stargate opens a wormhole between Earth and other planets that also have stargates." Hammond turned to face his visitors. "There are aliens and humans out there on other planets and we are in contact with them. Some are just like us, others are," he paused then shrugged, "definitely alien. We have made friends and allies, and discovered enemies we didn't even know existed. At times, this base has been the only thing standing between those enemies and the total disruption of life as we know it."

Jim and Blair stared at the general for a long moment then exchanged a look before they both started to chuckle.

"The total disruption of life as we know it. That's good. Is that another way of saying the end of the world?" Blair asked sarcastically. "I guess, in comparison, our little secret is pretty insignificant, huh?"

O'Neill shot to his feet and slammed his hands on the table as he leaned across it and into Sandburg's space. "It's the goddamned truth, son! And I'm sick and tired of coddling you and your _Sentinel_ when my people may be out there dying!"

"Colonel!" Hammond corrected firmly.

O'Neill straightened. "I'm going to check on Daniel," he stated, facing Hammond briefly to get permission.

"Let me know when he comes to, Jack," Hammond requested.

"Sir," O'Neill replied, not even glancing at the stunned Sentinel and Guide as he left.

Hammond sighed and looked at the two men before him. "I know this sounds a bit strange, but it's all true. The man I had hoped would brief you on the Stargate program is currently in the infirmary. The rest of Colonel O'Neill's team is still missing."

Jim leaned forward to rest his arms on the table. "Sir, even with everything we deal with on a daily basis, this sounds farfetched. Aliens, other worlds, worm holes…"

"I know," Hammond said kindly. "We live it every day and I still have to tell myself it's real some mornings." He smiled. "But believe me, it is real." He stood. "I'll get Walter to brief you. He's probably just as…"

Red lights and a loud claxon went off. "Off world activation. Repeat, off world activation," a voice announced over the intercom.

Hammond smiled slightly and motioned Jim and Blair over to the window. "You can see for yourself. This is probably one of the teams we've recalled to assist topside until the current situation is more stable."

Jim and Blair watched as the large metal ring suddenly came to life. Portions of the ring lit up with a red light and then the open center began to fill with swirling color.

"Chief?" Jim exclaimed softly as he staggered back. He recognized the feelings that had sent his senses spiraling earlier.

"Easy, Jim," Blair said, moving to support his friend. "Remember the exercise we did before. Filter out the sensations that are causing you trouble."

General Hammond watched with concern as Sandburg seemed to help his partner through some sort of crisis. The gate shut down and Ellison appeared to regain his equilibrium.

"You okay, Jim?" Blair asked, guiding Jim toward a chair.

"Yeah. That was what I sensed before," the Sentinel said staring at the window. He looked up at the general for confirmation. "The gate opened? That was the worm hole you talked about?"

Hammond nodded. "Actually what we see is the event horizon of the worm hole. What happened to you when it opened?" he asked curiously. They certainly couldn't use a Sentinel in the program if gate travel incapacitated them.

Ellison swallowed hard then took a deep breath to shake the last of the feelings caused by the stargate. "First I heard it. A high pitched noise that threatened to pierce my skull. The sound changed pitch and frequency, oscillating all over the place. I was able to dampen that, but then I felt a vibration, vibrations, the same as the sounds, differing in length and intensity… They seemed to cut right through me." He stopped and looked up at Blair and the general.

"You got a handle on it pretty quickly though, right Jim?" Blair asked hopefully.

"Yeah Chief, but it was still unnerving at first."

"But… you could handle it?" Hammond asked.

Something in his eyes made Jim suspicious. His own eyes narrowed. "Handle it, as in going through the gate, sir?" he asked warily.

Hammond sighed. These two were more paranoid than Jack. "The President asked me to fill you in on our project in exchange for more information on your Foundation. I believe he hoped to show you we could be trusted. And yes, someone with the abilities of a Watchman would be invaluable to the SGC." The general sat back down and waited for their response. He watched as the men looked at each other.

Sandburg met Hammond's eyes. "General… I apologize if we've been less than cooperative, but considering the lack of information and consideration we have received to this point and Jim's reactivation…" Blair glanced back at Jim before continuing. "Jim felt your stargate activate earlier and it threw his senses into overload. I tried to find O'Neill so that I could find out what was causing the problem. I guess that was about the time the colonel was dealing with his injured teammate." Blair sighed. "You need to understand that a Sentinel and his Guide share a bond that is both emotional and to some extent physical. When Jim's in trouble, I'll do just about anything to help him and vice versa."

"You could feel what he was going through?" Hammond asked.

Blair shook his head. "Not the way you mean. The connection is more subtle than that, usually. But the need to protect our partner is…" he trailed off at a loss to explain.

"I think what Blair is trying to say, sir is that you don't want to get in the way of a Sentinel trying to protect his Guide, or a Guide trying to help his Sentinel. It's not healthy and tends to make us cranky," Jim explained with a wry grin.

Hammond leaned back in his chair as he considered what had not been said. He'd dealt with protective commanders before. Jack was a prime example, but somehow he suspected these two were talking about something much more. "Okay. I'll admit that I don't really understand at this point, but I'm willing to take your word on it. We'll chalk all this up to a misunderstanding and start fresh, if that's all right with you?"

"What about my status, sir?" Jim asked reminding the general that he was now speaking to an army colonel.

"I believe the President felt it necessary to give you access to the SGC and sufficient rank to deflect certain parties'… shall we say… inappropriate curiosity? This is the fastest way to cut through the red tape if we need to send you through the gate and protect you from those organizations that might take an unhealthy interest in your abilities."

"Sandburg isn't military," Jim argued. "And I won't be going anywhere without him."

Hammond nodded. "I understand that, Colonel. But we have precedents for sending scientists through the gate. Dr. Jackson is only one of our civilian team members."

"Jackson?" Blair frowned. "Daniel Jackson?"

"Yes," Hammond replied. "He's on SG1 and one of the people responsible for helping to figure out how to use the gate in the first place."

"You know him, Chief?" Jim asked.

"Only by reputation," Blair said meeting Jim's gaze. "I've read a few of his papers." He looked back at the general. "You knew his theories were true and recruited him," he stated.

Hammond nodded again. "As I said, we have experience integrating civilians," he said with a small smile. "Now, do you think we can work together?"

"Sure," Blair replied amiably, then frowned, "but what about Colonel O'Neill?"

"I'll talk to Jack," Hammond assured. "Just remember, the need to protect your team isn't the sole prerogative of Sentinels and Guides."

Jim snorted and Blair smiled his acknowledgement.

"Come with me, gentlemen," Hammond instructed leading them downstairs. "I'll have Walter give you a quick lesson on the Stargate program and what we do here."

They came to a halt beside the sergeant that had met them when they exited the elevator earlier.

"Sergeant, any luck?" Hammond asked.

"No, sir. We may need to send through another MALP or a UAV to boost the signal."

Hammond nodded then indicated to the two men with him. "I'd like you to meet Colonel Jim Ellison and Dr. Blair Sandburg," Hammond introduced. "Please give them the short course on the Stargate program. They have full access."

Walter quickly hid his surprise. "Yes sir."

Hammond left and Jim and Blair found themselves engrossed in a tale more unbelievable than heightened senses and spirit guides.

After the technical explanation, Walter moved them all back up to the conference room. With refreshments brought in by an airman and a few photo files to give visual aide to his lecture, Walter filled the two men in on the comings and goings at Stargate Command.

Jim and Blair both asked questions at various points. Ellison's questions were usually more about weapons or strategy while Sandburg focused on the cultures they'd encountered.

As the meeting wound down, Blair leaned forward and pinned Walter with concerned blue eyes. "Can you tell us what happened to O'Neill's team?"

Walter frowned. The general had said full access. Sandburg was an anthropologist, and with everyone else scrambling around because of the temporary reassignments, maybe he could help until Jackson was available. "SG1 went to PX3-994 on a standard meet and greet. Meet the indigenous peoples and determine if equitable trade can be set up. We originally encountered the Aztuans on another planet. One of our teams was scouting the area and discovered that the Aztuans had recently colonized that world. They invited us to their home world to discuss trade. Colonel O'Neill was still in D.C. so Captain Carter, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c went on ahead to get things started."

"Do you always send such small teams out to investigate a new planet, let alone a partial team?" Jim asked, uncertain of the wisdom behind that.

"Well, in this case, because we had prior knowledge of the indigenous peoples, we felt safe in sending SG1, even without Colonel O'Neill. And, yes, four-man teams have been found to be the most… efficient use of man-power for first contact situations, much like a fireteam in a typical squad," Walter explained. "Anything more may seem a threat and less doesn't give them very good odds if they do run into trouble. All of the team members have a variety of experience from first aid to piloting skills.

Take SG1 for instance. Colonel O'Neill is in command. He has over twenty years of active service to fall back on. He's a pilot and has more first hand knowledge about Stargate travel than anyone else on Earth.

Captain Carter is also Air Force and has degrees in computer science and astrophysics. Her experience with alien technology has been instrumental in saving SG1 and even more dramatically, the entire world, more than a few times," Davis shrugged, knowing what this must sound like to these two men.

"Dr. Jackson is the resident expert in Egyptology and discovered how to work the Stargate. He's a linguist and archeologist with extensive knowledge of many of the cultures we've run into out there.

Finally there's Teal'c. Once the First Prime to Apophis, his training as a Jaffa warrior has helped us fight the Goa'uld. Teal'c helped SG1 escape from Apophis and joined us to help free his people from the System Lords. His insight into the way the Goa'uld think has been invaluable."

"Wait a minute," Jim interrupted. "You said the Jaffa are the Goa'uld's warriors, that they carried infant Goa'uld inside them. And this Teal'c is a part of SG1?"

Walter met Ellison's gaze with a firm glare. "Teal'c has proven himself a loyal ally to the people of Earth many times. And you'd do well not to question that loyalty, especially in front of O'Neill or the rest of SG1."

Jim regarded the sergeant for a moment then nodded. "Just wanted to make sure I had the facts straight."

"Tell us what happened with SG1," Blair encouraged.

"We're not really sure. Dr. Jackson came back through the gate around the time we expected them to check in. He was alone and injured. A bolt from an energy weapon followed him through the worm hole. Jackson said something about an ambush before losing consciousness." Walter looked down at his watch. "That was almost four hours ago. We sent a MALP through to see what we could. A group of natives shouted something about not following any other gods and shot the MALP. We were unable to establish contact with Captain Carter or Teal'c so we closed the gate. We've dialed 994 every hour since to try and reach them without luck."

"So we don't know what happened to the rest of SG1," Jim stated quietly.

Walter shook his head.

"Can we see the tape?" Blair asked.

Jim and Walter both looked at Blair in surprise.

"What? It can't hurt for us to look, can it?" Sandburg replied.

They made their way back to the lower floor where Walter set up the video from the MALP's aborted visit.

The screen on the monitor played static for a second and then the picture cleared up. Several dozen warriors stood around the gate with some sort of weapons aimed at the camera and the open gate.

One man wearing elaborate blue body paint and a feathered headdress stepped forward, leveling his weapon at the MALP as he spoke. "Do not come here again. We will worship no other god than Huitzilopochtli." He then fired the weapon and the screen went dead.

"Can you back it up and freeze on the warrior?" Blair asked thoughtfully. Walter nodded and complied.

"Aren't those the staff weapons you said the Jaffa use?" Jim asked.

"Yes, but our initial survey of the planet didn't show any signs of current Goa'uld activity."

"Looks like a sign to me," Jim mumbled. He looked at Blair who was examining the man on the screen very closely. "Whatcha got, Chief?"

"He said Huitzilopochtli," Blair replied, his attention not wavering from the screen. "And these decorations," he pointed to the feathered headdress, "are very similar to ones used by the Aztecs."

"You think these people are descended from the Aztecs?" Jim asked.

Blair shrugged. "From what Walter's told us, the Goa'uld took humans to many different planets as slaves. In most of the examples he's given, the people on any one planet had evolved from one old Earth culture. Maybe Huitzilopochtli was also a Goa'uld," Blair surmised.

Walter interrupted. "We should talk to General Hammond about this."

Walter led the way back up to the conference room. "Wait here. I'll get the general and see if Colonel O'Neill is available." He stopped just before reaching the door. "Are you hungry? I just realized how late it is."

Jim and Blair nodded.

Walter shook his head. "I apologize. It's been a bit crazy around here. I'll have something brought in for you."

"Thanks," Blair said, falling slowly into a chair. He looked across at Jim who stood staring thoughtfully through the window at the stargate. "Not exactly what we expected, eh?"

Jim turned and joined Blair at the table. "What? You mean the visit with the President? Or the terrorist attack on our country? Or the fact that our military makes regular trips to other planets and saves our asses from aliens once a week?"

Blair grinned. "Yeah. That just about covers it."

Jim chuckled and ran a hand over his face. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know, Chief. We had enough on our plates just dealing with our little problem. What are we supposed to do about this?" he asked with a wave of his hand.

Blair sighed, his eyes staring unfocused at the tabletop. His mind had been going in a hundred different directions since they left Washington. Suddenly he found himself floundering. Blair looked up at his partner and met Jim's eyes, hoping for something. He found the same confusion in Jim's gaze, but in the blink of an eye that confusion changed to resolve. Together they could handle whatever came. Blair's uncertainty dissolved and a plan began to take shape.

Jim grinned. "I recognize that look, Chief. What's the plan?"

"Not so much a plan, Jim, as a bit of wisdom. We can only do so much and at the moment our only option appears to be helping out here. So… we do what we can to wrap this up as quickly as possible so we can go home and deal with our own crisis."

Ellison grunted, but didn't get a chance to comment as Walter, General Hammond and another man entered. The third man was pushing a cart that Jim could tell carried their dinner.

"I understand you may have some information for me," Hammond said, gesturing for the airman to leave the cart. The general uncovered the top tray. "Help yourselves," he said, taking a plate for himself and beginning to load it up.

Jim and Blair followed the general's lead while Walter just nursed a cup of coffee.

"I've already eaten," he replied to Blair's questioning glance.

Once they were all seated, Walter briefed Hammond on what Blair had said about the possible origins of the inhabitants of 994.

Hammond nodded as he finished his meal. "Unfortunately, our resident Goa'uld expert is missing in action."

"Teal'c?" Jim asked.

"Yes. Jackson might be able to help, but last I heard he was still unconscious. Plus, his expertise is more with the Egyptian and European mythos than the South American."

"That's where I come in," Blair said quietly.

"Convenient timing, eh?" Hammond said with a slight smile.

Blair snorted, but returned the grin. The grin turned to a thoughtful frown. "I wonder if any of this might relate to Sentinels." He looked at Jim, eyes wide. "If the pyramids in Egypt were landing platforms for the Goa'uld ships, maybe the temples in South America were too. My God. Just imagine a Goa'uld with the powers of a Sentinel," Blair trailed off, his thoughts turning dark.

"I don't know, Chief," Jim interrupted. "Can you really see an ego like the ones Walter has described allowing someone else to help them? They might be able to use the senses of the host, but they'd still need the Guide. My bet is that the Goa'uld may have tried using Sentinels as hosts, but probably found it wasn't worth the hassle."

Blair's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He noticed the worried looks on the general's and Walter's faces, but Jim had a point. He chuckled. "You're right, Jim. It's hard enough to deal with an ornery Sentinel if you are a Guide, but to try and control one without a Guide…" Blair ducked the hand that swiped at the back of his head.

"I'm glad you find this all so amusing," Hammond said sternly.

Jim faced the general. "Not at all, sir," he said seriously. "It just seems unlikely that the Goa'uld found Sentinels to be good hosts, otherwise I'm sure you would have run into one or more of them by now."

"On the other hand," Blair continued, frowning once again. "It might explain why Sentinels have been so rare in the recent past."

"What do you mean?" Walter asked.

"Well, if the Goa'uld did discover Sentinels, and this is all just conjecture, mind you. I've seen nothing that indicates…"

"Yes, yes," Hammond interrupted. "Please continue."

Blair worried his lower lip for a moment. "The Goa'uld may have tried to use Sentinels as hosts. When they discovered that they couldn't, they may have tried to eradicate them. We know Sentinels can feel the stargate open. It only stands to reason they can detect a Goa'uld or Jaffa. There would be sensory differences between a Goa'uld, a Jaffa and a human. Smell, an additional heartbeat. Sentinels would be a threat to the status quo."

Hammond nodded. "Makes sense. Maybe, once this crisis has passed, you and Dr. Jackson can look into it together. I know he'll enjoy having someone in his area of expertise to talk to."

Blair shrugged, but did not disagree. Jackson had access to information Blair couldn't dream of getting without cooperation from the military. They might even have information on Sentinels and Guides in their records.

Colonel O'Neill entered the room with a quick nod and small smile. He piled some food onto a plate and took a seat beside the general.

"I assume Dr. Jackson is doing better," Hammond said.

O'Neill nodded as he chewed. He swallowed. "Woke up a few minutes ago. He's pretty sure Teal'c and Sam are okay. Danny was just coming back to give an update and get permission to stay on 994 a while when he was ambushed by an unknown party."

"Was he able to describe them?" Hammond asked.

"Yeah. It was the group we saw through the MALP."

"Dr. Sandburg has identified them as possible descendants of the Aztec. We might be looking at another population relocated by a Goa'uld," Hammond said. "Is Dr. Jackson well enough for visitors?"

"You'll have to ask Doc Frasier," Jack shrugged. "I'm sure Daniel will be willing to talk." He looked at Jim and Blair. "Am I to assume you've decided to believe?" he asked, tamping down his usual sarcasm though it still came through strong enough to earn him a frown from Hammond.

Jim and Blair exchanged a quick glance then Jim nodded. "We'd like to help you get the rest of your team back."

Blair pushed his empty plate to one side. "I, um… I'd like to apologize for flying off the handle earlier, Colonel." He didn't offer any explanations.

Jack sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. "Accepted… if you accept my apology," he said, his mouth twitching into a small, wry grin. "I think we can blame it on the stress of the last few days."

Blair snorted softly, but returned the smile. "Walter said that originally the Aztuans met up with an SG team on another planet. Would you have a report from that team?"

Hammond nodded. "Their mission report. Why?"

Blair ran both hands through his hair smoothing it down in an unconscious habit that told Jim the gears were turning. "I'm curious about what they were told… Maybe the Aztuans gave them information that could help us figure out what's going on here."

The General looked at Walter who nodded and stood. "I'll go get a copy."

O'Neill and Hammond entered the infirmary.

Dr. Frasier left Daniel's bedside and met them halfway. "He's doing well, but don't stay too long, he's still weak and needs to rest."

Both men nodded then went to see Daniel.

"Hey, Daniel," Jack said gently. "How ya feeling?"

Daniel squirmed a bit trying to squish the pillows behind his back into a more comfortable position. "I'm fine, Jack, General. What's going on? Did you get in touch with Sam and Teal'c? Did you find out who shot me?"

General Hammond shook his head. "We haven't been able to contact Captain Carter or Teal'c. Can you tell me what happened?"

Daniel frowned. "I came back to the gate to make a report and request more time. The Aztuans seemed eager to trade and we were discussing what they had to offer and what they might want in return." He paused to make sure he had events in the right order and then continued. "When I got to the gate, a group of men… warriors I guess, surrounded me. They were dressed differently from the people at the settlement. One of the men wore blue body paint, I recognized some of the symbols as being similar to those of the Aztec, but that's not really my area…"

"We know, Dr. Jackson," Hammond interrupted before Daniel went off on a tangent. "What did they want?"

"They wanted to know how we found their world. Where we had gotten the designation for their gate. I told them we found it on another planet," he said sending a pleading glance at Jack. "I didn't think it would cause any problems, since they already know about gate travel."

Jack nodded approvingly and gave Daniel's arm a squeeze. "Go on."

Daniel swallowed and took a deep breath. "I tried to find out who they were, but one of them hit me," he fingered the bandage on his forehead. "The leader, the man in the body paint said something to the one who hit me, I didn't know the language, and he backed off, then the leader asked me for the designation of the planet where we found his world's gate symbols." Daniel yawned and shook his head. "Sorry."

"That's all right, Dr. Jackson," Hammond said kindly, "just give us the pertinent details and we'll let you get some rest."

"I lied, told him I didn't know it. They started to argue amongst themselves and seemed to forget about me. The man guarding me was more interested in listening to the argument than watching me. I managed to sucker punch him and ran for the trees. They fired at me and one of the bolts hit my leg, but I was able to get away. I hid for a while then went back to the gate. They were guarding it.

I created a diversion that drew them away from the gate and it gave me just enough time to dial home. Like I told Jack earlier, I hadn't seen anyone else dressed like the men who attacked me. And as far as I know, Sam and Teal'c are still safe in the settlement."

Hammond nodded. "We've been trying to contact them since you got back. We sent in a UAV and have been consulting with an anthropologist whose specialty is South American cultures. He's right outside, do you feel up to talking with him?"

Daniel's eyebrows rose in surprise. He nodded.

Blair read the mission report while Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond spoke to Daniel Jackson in the infirmary. Jim stood behind him reading over his shoulder.

"Something's not right here, Jim," Blair muttered softly as he perused the file.

"What's that, Chief?" Jim frowned not sure what he'd missed.

"I don't think…"

O'Neill poked his head out into the hallway. "Come on in."

They entered the room and approached the bed. O'Neill had moved around to the opposite side.

"Dr. Daniel Jackson, this is Colonel Jim Ellison and Dr. Blair Sandburg," Jack introduced.

The three men shook hands.

Daniel frowned thoughtfully. "Sandburg?" His eyebrows rose over wide blue eyes. "The Watchman! They're real?" he asked his eyes flicking to Jim and back to Blair.

Jim grinned at the slightly shocked look on Blair's face. "Yes," he answered for his partner. "Watchmen, or rather Sentinels and their Guides are real. Blair's my Guide."

"Wow," Jackson said. "That's incredible. I mean, we've run across some fascinating things, but this is here… us…" he shook his head staring wide eyed at the two men.

Jack grinned briefly then gently tapped Daniel on the head. "Can we get back to the problem at hand, Daniel? Carter and Teal'c?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Daniel said pushing his glasses up with one finger. "But like I told you before, Jack, as far as I know they were both safe in the city."

"Dr. Jackson…" Blair started.

"Call me Daniel."

"Okay then, it's Blair and Jim," Blair replied before continuing. "This mission report from SG11, they were the first to meet the Aztuans and set up this meet you and SG1 went on… but the team's description of the Aztuans doesn't sound anything like the people we saw on the MALP tape. Did you see anyone dressed like that before the ambush?"

Daniel shook his head. "No. I've been trying to recall… but I didn't see anyone dressed like the men who attacked me at the gate."

"What about religious leaders? Did any of them mention Huitzilopochtli?"

"Yes, we did meet a few of their religious leaders, but they were dressed in similar fashion to the rest of the citizens, barring the symbols of office." Daniel frowned. "They did say that cults worshipping the old gods still exist, but I got the impression they are considered insignificant and fairly harmless."

"How so?" Blair asked.

"Well, most of the population follows a belief system closer to that of the tribes of North America. That is, they revere the sanctity of nature, worshiping the spirits of the things around them. Huitzilopochtli was never mentioned by name. We were told that the old god had abandoned them on the new world and lost the people's respect."

"Why would they claim to be worshipping Huizi… Huti… " Jack faltered over the name and shrugged as he gave up.

"Maybe they thought we would be frightened by him or the thought that Huitzilopochtli might be around," Blair offered.

"How do you do that?" Jack mumbled, annoyed by his inability to pronounce the Gou'ald's name.

Jim grinned and asked, "So who would want to keep us from interacting with the inhabitants? And why?"

All eyes focused on Daniel. He shrugged. "I don't know. Everyone we met seemed excited at the chance to trade. Of course, we have dealt with situations where we've only been introduced to one half of the society before." He shared a knowing look with Jack.

Jack sighed. "Great. Do we have any way of finding out if this Huziwhatsit…"

"Huitzilopochtli," Blair and Daniel said together.

Jack just waved his hand dismissingly. "Whatever… Do we know for sure he was a Goa'uld?"

"Teal'c is our usual source for that sort of information." Daniel frowned. "Blair, do you know of any stories about the Aztecs and Huitzilopochtli that might indicate he was a Goa'uld?"

Blair stared off at nothing for a moment as he tried to recall what he knew about the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli. "There were quite a few gods that the people of that time and region of Mexico worshipped. Most cultures had more than one god and many of them appeared in more than one religion. The Aztec had quite a few, but Huitzilopochtli was one of their major deities, none of the other local peoples counted him quite as highly." Blair started to pace as he spoke, a sign that he was just getting warmed up.

"One legend says that Coatlicue, the goddess of the earth also known as the Lady of the Skirt of Snakes, gave birth to the moon and stars who became jealous of their brother, Huitzilopochtli before he was even born. During his birth Huitzilopochtli used the serpent of fire and the sun's rays to defeat his siblings." Blair stopped and looked up at Daniel. "I've never seen a really good answer for what the serpent of fire was supposed to be, but I suppose it could refer to those snake pistols…"

"Zats," Jack supplied.

"Right, zat guns," Blair shrugged. "The serpent and bird imagery are always associated with him. According to record, Cortez started his conquests in the early 1500's, within twenty years, over ninety-five percent of Mexico's population had died due to the war or disease. Possibly some of those people could have been relocated. I always thought the estimated nineteen million deaths was a bit excessive."

"Nineteen million?" Jim repeated. "That's unbelievable."

"Well," Blair said, "it's an estimate based on the extrapolated population of Mexico at the time. There's really no way to know for sure, but just as the invasion of North America by whites decimated whole tribes of American Indians, the Spanish conquistadors brought new technology and new diseases into a naïve population in Mexico as well."

"Sounds to me like Huziwhatsit…" Jack started.

Daniel put his hand on Blair's arm and shook his head. "Don't bother," he said softly.

Jack continued blithely on, "could be a Goa'uld. That Lady of the Snake Skirt certainly sounds like what Hathor did when she tried to take over the SGC."

Daniel and Hammond nodded and couldn't quite suppress a shudder at the memory of Hathor's time on the base.

"Must be quite a story," Jim murmured.

"Time for stories later," Jack said looking at his watch. "When is the next contact scheduled?"

Blair looked at his watch. "Walter dialed 994 about forty-five minutes ago, but wasn't able to establish contact."

Jack looked at General Hammond. "I'm going back down to the gate room for the next dial-out."

"I'll come with you," Jim said.

Hammond nodded and led the way.

Jack gave Blair and Daniel a frown. "Sandburg, you stay here with Daniel and do your anthrogeek thing. We'll let you know if we reach Carter and Teal'c."

Blair and Daniel exchanged a look and mouthed "anthrogeek" to each other then watched as Jack left the room.

"You'll have to forgive Jack," Daniel sighed. "He's really a great guy, just a bit short in the tact department."

Blair grinned. "Don't worry, we've already signed a truce. Besides, I live and work with Jim Ellison. O'Neill's a bit of a pussy cat in comparison."

Daniel laughed. "I don't believe that."

"Yeah, well," Blair chuckled ruefully, "maybe they're tied for first in the tough-guy department, anyway, why don't you tell me a bit more about the Aztuans."

Daniel nodded and waved at Blair to sit down. This was going to take a while.

O'Neill, Hammond and Ellison reached the control room just before Walter started the dial up sequence. Jim braced himself for the expected assault on his senses and was pleasantly surprised to find that his control held steady. The worm hole opened and Davis entered the command to start the UAV that they had sent through several hours ago. Once the machine was in the air, Davis began transmitting again.

"Stargate Command to Captain Carter or Teal'c. Do you read?" He paused and then repeated the request.

After the third repetition the radio crackled to life.

"George? Is that you?" Carter's voice came over the com.

Hammond frowned and stepped up to the microphone. The only reason Carter would call him 'George' would be if something was wrong. "Yes, Samantha. How are things going there? We've been trying to reach you all day," he replied letting Carter know he got the message and would play along.

"Great," Sam replied a bit too cheerfully. "Teal'c and I are having a great time. The hills around the settlement seem to be blocking communications. Did Daniel tell you we were going to stay longer?"

Hammond started to reply, but was stopped by Jim's hand over the mike. He switched the microphone off and looked at Ellison.

"Who ever is with them knows that Daniel was hurt," Jim said. "I could hear them telling Captain Carter to ask about him. If we say he's fine, they'll know we suspect something. Are you recording this?"

The general nodded and turned the mike on. "Samantha, Daniel is going to be all right, but he was attacked coming back through the gate. Are you and Teal'c okay?"

"We're fine, George."

"Do our friends know who might have attacked Daniel?"

A brief silence followed, then Sam said, "No, they just want to trade with us."

"Do you know when you will be finished there?" Hammond asked. "We've got a special visitor here. Do you remember that movie you liked so much? The Watchman?" The general waited for Sam's quick affirmative then continued, "Well, one of the writers of the show is here. He's eager to _hear_ your opinion on the show."

"That sounds great, George, um, it looks like it could take a few days here, though. Can you hold on a moment?"

"Yes, of course." Hammond shut off the mike while they waited. He turned to O'Neill and Ellison.

"There's someone else talking in the background," Jim advised, tilting his head to one side as he focused on the voice coming through the comm. "Not the one from before. It's Teal'c, he says to tell O'Neill that they are captives. The Aztuan only know one other gate address, the world where SG11 first met them. They think they can get Carter and himself to divulge more."

"George?" Sam said.

Hammond flipped on the mike. "Right here, Samantha."

"Teotl, he's the leader of the community near the gate, requests us to not send anyone else through until they can determine the nature of the attack on Daniel. He does not wish anyone else to be injured."

"I understand, Samantha. I'd like you and Teal'c to come home now."

More silence followed. Hammond looked at Jim who frowned and shook his head.

Sam came back on. "Teotl is afraid that the attackers will have watchmen at the gate. He wants us to stay until it is safe."

Hammond sighed, he hadn't thought it would be that easy, but at least Carter seemed to understand that they could hear the conversation in the background. "That seems like a wise idea, but I would like to keep in contact with you. We will dial back in two hours."

"That's good, George. Talk to you then."

Hammond turned off the mike and looked at Walter. "Bring that UAV around to the gate, I want to see if they have anyone guarding it. Do a good sweep before you park it and shut down the gate, then let us know so we can review the tapes."

"Yes, sir."

"Ellison, O'Neill, come with me."

The three men made their way back to the infirmary.

Daniel and Blair looked up when they entered.

"That was fast," Daniel said.

"We were able to make contact," Jack advised. "They're holding Sam and Teal'c."

"What?" Daniel squawked. "What for?"

"They want gate addresses," Hammond answered. "Evidently they only have the one for the planet we originally met them on."

Jack pulled up a stool beside Blair's chair. "The general was able to hint that we had a way to hear what was going on in the background and Ellison was able to hear the natives and Teal'c."

Blair frowned. "Are you all right, Jim? The gate didn't bother you?"

Jim shook his head. "I was prepared for it. It actually went pretty smoothly and I was able to focus on the background noise from the transmission and hear a few things of interest, but a lot of it was in a language I don't know."

The phone rang and General Hammond picked it up. "Thanks Sergeant. We'll be right down." He hung up the phone and turned back to the others. "Davis has the tape of the conversation and the video from the UAV. Let's go take a look."

"I'm coming, too," Daniel said, flipping back the sheet covering his legs.

"I don't think so, Danny boy," Jack said, catching his arm. "Doc Frasier would skin us alive if we let you out of bed just yet."

"You need my knowledge of the…"

"I think Dr. Sandburg," Hammond interrupted, "can ably fill your shoes while you're recuperating, Dr. Jackson."

"Sir!" Daniel exclaimed.

"He does have more experience with this culture than you do, correct?"

Daniel stared at Hammond then sighed and dropped his gaze. "Yes, sir. But…"

"No, buts, Dr. Jackson. You need to rest. If we need you, we know where to find you." General Hammond smiled gently and patted Daniel's leg. "You're performance on this mission has been exceptional, Dr. Jackson. Now let us take the information you've provided and bring the rest of SG-1 home."

Daniel frowned, but nodded.

Hammond nodded and collected the others with his eyes. "Jack, would you show our guests to the locker room? Take a few minutes to freshen up, gentlemen, then meet me in the conference room."

Jim and Blair nodded.

Blair gave Daniel a sympathetic smile. "I'll fill you in on all the details later," he promised.

Daniel watched them leave. "Great," he mumbled to himself. "A chance to see a real Watchman in action and I'm stuck in the infirmary."

**Conference room**

Sgt. Davis waited for the others to take a seat. "I have the video from the UAV's aerial surveillance of the area around the gate on PX3-994 and the audio tape of our contact with Captain Carter. We can use the computer to enhance the background noises and hopefully hear what the Aztuans are saying."

"No need for the computer," Jim said. "I can filter out the conversation. The problem will be translating it. They weren't always speaking English."

General Hammond nodded thoughtfully. "Let's listen to the tape first, see what Colonel Ellison can pick up."

"I'd prefer you don't call me Colonel, General," Jim frowned. "Jim is fine."

Hammond's mouth quirked into a small consenting grin. "All right, Jim. Sergeant, record this."

Davis nodded, turned to the audio equipment he'd set up on the table then looked at Jim. "Ready?"

Jim nodded and Walter started the tape. Jim listened, his head tilted and his eyes staring unfocused at the table, then he started to speak. Some of it was unintelligible, some clearly spoken by Teal'c. When the tape ended, Jim sat back and took a deep breath which he exhaled slowly.

Blair looked up from the notes he'd been taking. "You okay, big guy?"

Jim nodded and sat forward to peek at Blair's notes. "Don't tell me you were able to get all that down."

Blair shook his head. "No, but enough to figure out that they are speaking a dialect of Nahuatl." Seeing confusion on the other men's faces, he explained. "It's the language used by the Aztecs and variations of it are still spoken by some South American tribes today. I recognized a few words. I'm no linguist, but with a little time to study the tape we just made, I can probably translate most of what was said."

"Excellent," Hammond said. "Why don't you do that while we view the UAV's video? We may not be able to attempt a rescue at the next contact, but maybe we'll have enough information to diffuse the situation."

Blair nodded and looked at Walter. "Is there some place I can do this?"

Walter nodded, popped the tape out of the machine and led Blair from the room. Jack started the video.

An hour later, they were all back in the conference room. Blair had been able to translate the background conversations, but had only confirmed what they already knew. Plans to go back to PX3-994 were discussed and things started to get tense between the two groups once again.

Blair stood between Jim and Colonel O'Neill. "If you insist on Jim going through to the Aztuan world, we need to have a test run. There's no telling what going through the worm hole will do to Jim's senses." He looked past O'Neill to Hammond. "Walter said that gate travel shakes up even experienced travelers. We won't be of any use to you if Jim's incapacitated at the other end."

"We don't really have time for a side trip," Jack said running a hand through his hair. Unfortunately, he agreed with Sandburg. He faced General Hammond reluctantly. "We could gate to the Alpha site and back. If we're lucky and Ellison can adjust to the trip quickly…" Jack shrugged, "it shouldn't take long."

Hammond nodded. "I agree. We can't risk sending you through without knowing how your senses will react, Jim. You've got a go, Jack. Hurry back, I'll have SG3 briefed and ready to go when you get back."

O'Neill nodded and headed for the stairs. "Let's go." Jim and Blair followed him to the control room where Jack gave the officer on duty dialing instructions, then they all went down to the gate room.

"Okay, Jim," Blair coached. "You said you managed the dial up earlier without any trouble…"

Jim nodded, already adjusting his dials for the expected onslaught.

"Where are your dials?"

"Four."

"You think three will be low enough for going through the gate?"

Jim shrugged. "Yeah," he said, more nervous about this than he wanted to admit. Blair moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

The gate opened and Jack headed up the ramp. He stopped in front of the event horizon and looked back at Jim and Blair. "Coming?"

The pair took a deep breath in unison and nodded before joining O'Neill.

Jack smiled. "Relax. It's a rush," he said then turned to step into the watery reflection.

Blair reached out to touch it and raised an eyebrow as he pulled his hand back. Jim copied him, his only reaction a slight frown.

"You ready for this?" Blair asked, glancing at his partner.

"It's now or never, Chief," Jim replied softly.

They turned together and stepped through the gate.

Part 4

A million needles prickled his skin. Or it could have been fingers of the finest silk. It was a freezing cold and a searing heat. High pitched wails assaulted his ears, yet sounded like siren song. The darkness enveloped him while brilliant light blinded his eyes. The stench sent his stomach flipping but reminded him of the finest perfume. Both sat on his tongue making him gag on the rich ambrosia.

The world whizzed by at slow motion and then he stepped out onto the ramp, breathless as he turned to face the gate. A shiver ran up Jim's back and he grinned. The wormhole closed.

"Jim? Jim! Are you okay?" Blair asked grabbing his arm.

Jim faced his partner, his grin broadening at the sight of his friend's slightly green complexion. He felt invigorated, his pulses throbbed, he could feel the adrenalin rushing through his body. Jim gave Blair's hand a brief squeeze. "I'm fine, Chief." He looked at O'Neill. "You're right," he grinned, "that was quite a rush."

"Jim?"

"I'm fine, Blair. Really. It was… exhilarating. Can we head back now?" Jim asked eagerly.

O'Neill chuckled. "Looks like we may have to be careful," he glanced at Sandburg. "Your Sentinels may develop an addiction to gate travel."

Blair stared in disbelief at O'Neill then looked at Jim. The Sentinel seemed fine, but he gazed longingly at the gate and seemed a bit flushed. Like he'd just come of the world's greatest rollercoaster, or maybe had the most mind blowing sex ever. Blair grinned at the thought. "Better than sex?" he whispered.

Jim turned slowly to look at his Guide. He just looked at Blair for a long moment then suddenly waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Blair chuckled.

"You're going to have to give me a detailed description when we have time, Jim," Blair teased.

Jim nodded still reveling in the afterglow.

O'Neill shook his head. "Come on, kiddies. We still have work to do."

Back at Stargate Command, General Hammond had been conferring with SG3 and had devised a plan. A second UAV was prepared and ready to go. As soon as contact was made with Carter and Teal'c the UAV would be sent through the gate providing a distraction to allow O'Neill, Ellison, Sandburg and SG3 safe passage onto 994. After that it would be up to the team to make their way to where Carter and Teal'c were being held and affect their release.

The wormhole closed as they raced across the clearing to the cover of the trees. Batson turned his attention to the UAV remote and sent the bird off on a repetitive, yet seemingly random pattern that would lead the natives away from the gate and keep them busy trying to follow the alien machine.

Jim and Blair knelt off to one side of the group as Jim did a sensory sweep of the area. "Most of them are following the UAV. One is headed toward the settlement," he reported to O'Neill.

O'Neill nodded. "All right. Let's head out."

The settlement was a good thirty minute hike from the gate. The UAV footage had given them the basic layout of the town, and Daniel had narrowed down the possible locations of Teal'c and Carter.

The team took cover in the forest just outside the settlement. Jack nodded to Jim. "Can you find them?"

Jim frowned and looked out at the town. Blair leaned slightly toward his partner until their shoulders were just touching and said something under his breath. Jim nodded.

Blair looked over his shoulder at O'Neill. "We just need a little quiet."

Jack nodded and motioned to SG3 for silence. Not that they'd been talking or making noise, but it gave Jack something to do.

Jim closed his eyes and tilted his head. He let his hearing range out over one end of the town. Most of the conversations were in Nahuatl although some of the people were speaking English. _Strange. I wonder where they would have learned English. I'll have to ask O'Neill later. _He used Blair's presence as an anchor, trusting his Guide to keep him from zoning and continued to search the area. Finally he heard the voices of Captain Carter and Teal'c.

"They're being held toward the center of the village," Jim said. "I don't think we can avoid running into someone along the way, too many people out and about this time of day."

"We can wait 'til later," Major Lees suggested, "or pick up some native clothing for disguises."

O'Neill nibbled his lower lip as he considered the options. He looked at Ellison. "How did they sound?"

"They sounded fine," Jim advised. "Heart rates were calm and they were talking about missing a hockey game?"

Jack grinned. "Like they really wanted to go anyway." He sighed. "Batson, Lees, scout around that way, see if you can 'borrow' anything from a laundry line. Terrance and Dobbs, go that way. Ellison, Sandburg and I will wait here. Be back in twenty."

The members of SG3 nodded and took off on their assigned missions. Jim studied O'Neill's profile as the Colonel gazed through the foliage toward the settlement.

"I always hated this part," Jim said. O'Neill cast a raised eyebrow his direction. "The waiting. Sometimes being in command really sucks."

Blair chuckled at Jim's turn of phrase and saw the smirk of agreement on O'Neill's face.

"Yeah, but there are other times when it pays off," Jack replied.

Twenty minutes later they were all dressed in local garb and making their way in small groups of two or three toward the center of town. Jim, Blair and Jack were in the lead with Jim tuning into Carter and Teal'c every so often to pin down their location. Finally he stopped the other two and gave a small nod toward one of the buildings.

"They're in there."

"How many others?" Jack asked.

Jim looked mildly surprised at the question, but concentrated on the building again. "Four or five in the immediate vicinity, another dozen or so in the rest of the building. The ones with your people are talking, most of the others are quiet," he paused and listened again. "They may be on guard duty or patrolling the interior. The majority are staying in one place, but there are a few moving back and forth over the same areas."

Jack nodded. The odds were a little uneven for a frontal assault.

Suddenly the door of the building opened and a single man came out. He looked directly at Blair and held his arms open in welcome.

"Greetings, Teyacana. You are welcome in our town. Please, come, bring your tehuicalti and let us be friends," the man said motioning for them to join him.

"Tyuhcanuh?" Jack asked, looking suspiciously at Blair.

Blair shrugged and opened his mouth to deny knowing what the man said, but then stopped and turned to look at the man. "I… it means leader or… guide."

Jim stepped up beside his partner.

"Tehuicalti, I think that's friends or companions," Blair added. He glanced back at Jack and took his silence as permission to proceed. Blair walked slowly toward the building with Jim just behind his right shoulder. "We are here peacefully in search of our friends, our tehuicalti. I believe they are in this building," Blair said as he stopped in front of the man.

"You are correct, young Teyacana," the man said. He looked at Jim for a long moment, then back to Blair. "I am Momach, Teopix of this village."

"My name is Blair, Guide to the Sentinel of Cascade," Blair said indicating Jim with a wave of his hand. Jim and Jack frowned.

"He is Pepializtli," Momach said reverently. "We have been many generations without such a guardian. Your people are blessed by the gods."

"Momach," Blair said, "why are our people being held against their will?"

The Teopix dropped his gaze briefly then met Blair's eyes with regret. "Some of my brothers feel the need to conquer others as our ancestors did, but we already rule this entire planet and the one where we first met your people." Momach sighed. "Teotl is misguided. He believes your Samantha Carter will give us access to other worlds through the gate. He does not see the strength of the great mizton in her as I do."

"Meezton?" Jack repeated feeling quite left out. It was almost like having Daniel along.

"Cat," Blair said distractedly. "We might be willing to make a deal, but only if you let Samantha and Teal'c go free. Our people want to trade with yours, but will not be coerced."

Momach smiled. "I knew when the cuetlachtli of the old world came to me in a dream that I would meet a strong Teyacana. I'm pleased to meet you, Blair."

"Cute what?" Jack sighed.

Blair turned and grinned wolfishly at the Colonel. Jim just rolled his eyes.

Blair reached for his beer and continued with the story. Jim and Jack were in the living room watching the taped hockey game that the group had missed while on 944. Blair had a captive audience. Teal'c, Sam and Daniel nodded in all the right places, well, Teal'c didn't really nod, but Blair could tell he understood, and they were all fascinated by the tale.

"So, when I realized that Momach knew Jim was a Sentinel, I decided to use that to our advantage."

"But how did you know?" Sam asked waving a chip loaded with avocado dip in the air.

Blair shrugged. "It's just one of those things. A feeling I guess. I've learned not to question them."

"What I don't understand," Daniel said, "is Momach's reference to the wolf."

"Ah, well, you see, the wolf is my animal spirit," Blair said. "The Aztuan still had access to all their old writings and histories from Earth. Mainly the priests studied them, so Momach knew what a wolf was when he saw it in his vision."

"The movie we saw," Teal'c said, "did not mention spirit animals."

Blair shook his head. "No, we thought that might be a case of too much information. Just like we glossed over the dangers of zoning and extreme sensory overload. We wanted the people who needed us to figure it out and contact the SGF, but didn't want to give others information that could hurt a Sentinel or Guide."

Sam nodded. "That makes sense. When are you and Jim heading home?"

"In a couple more days. Getting around on public transport is still pretty iffy. General Hammond promised us a ride to Cascade once some of your people return." Blair frowned. "I'd rather go to New York and be with Felicia." He pasted on a small smile. "But I know it's pretty crazy around there right now and she does have people with her already."

Blair and Jim had talked to Simon by phone after returning from 944. Although they couldn't tell Simon what exactly had happened, they had wanted to let everyone know that they were all right. Simon and Percy had been in contact with two SG pairs that had made it to Felicia before traffic in and out of New York was halted. The Guide was managing her grief with their help.

Blair shivered involuntarily and leaned back to look through the door into the living room. Jim met his eyes and gave him a small smile. Blair returned it and faced the others.

Sam patted his hand sympathetically. "I think I may understand a bit of what your link to Jim is. The Tokra live a true symbiotic relationship. They share each others thoughts and feelings and yet are two separate individuals. I didn't really understand how someone could want to live that way, maybe I still don't," she shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's not the same at all."

"Jim and I are linked, as you put it, but we can't read each others minds. We sometimes get… very strong feelings when the other is in trouble or have warning visions or dreams, but we are not symbiotic. A Sentinel can live without his Guide and vice versa, it just…" he trailed off not knowing what to say.

Jim stepped up behind him and put his hands on Blair's shoulders. "It's a living hell. And thank God I didn't have to find out just how long a Sentinel can live without his Guide." He squeezed Blair's shoulders gently but did not move his hands.

Jack joined them. "What'd I miss?"

Daniel and Sam exchanged an amused look while Teal'c simply raised an eyebrow.

"I was just telling them about our first meeting with Momach," Blair said with a grin.

"Ahhh," Jack said flopping into a chair beside Teal'c. "So, I don't suppose we could convince you two to hang around, help us out a bit?"

"Sorry, Jack," Jim replied. "We've got too much going on at the Foundation."

"Yeah," Blair agreed. "As founding members and the foremost authorities, in the Western world," he added with a grin, "on Sentinels and Guides, we sorta need to be there."

"Yeah, well, it was just a thought," Jack sighed. "It was very cool to see you at work, Jim. I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a Sentinel or two at Stargate Command."

"Well…" Blair drawled, "We could keep an eye out for just the right pair." He shrugged. "We never can tell who's going to walk in the door."

Jack grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me." He held up his beer. "To new friends."

The others lifted their bottles and clinked them together. "To new friends," they repeated.

"And new frontiers," Blair added slyly.

Jack and Jim groaned while Sam and Daniel laughed. Teal'c watched knowing they were sharing some strange Tauri joke. He sighed and Jack laughed as he slapped Teal'c on the back.

"Don't worry, Teal'c, we'll introduce you to Captain Kirk soon."

"Will this Captain Kirk be joining us at the SGC?"

The Tauri started to laugh again, leaving the poor Jaffa to wonder what was so amusing.

The end… for now.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.

* * *

><p>NOTES:<p>

I used information from the following sites for the 'facts' about the Aztecs. Some have been skewed a bit to fit my needs for the story.

References:

Aztec LANGUAGE

www mrs umn edu/academic/history/Nahuatl/florent txt (put periods in the place of the spaces)

For Aztec information - **Aztec Article**

www ltcconline net/barclay/courses/SPA_101/aztecs_101 htm


End file.
